


Quietness

by mtac_archivist



Category: NCIS
Genre: Character Study, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Not Episode Related, Not a Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-18
Updated: 2008-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-02 11:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13317051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mtac_archivist/pseuds/mtac_archivist
Summary: Abby's scars can't be seen.





	Quietness

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Jessi, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ MTAC](https://fanlore.org/wiki/MTAC), an archive of NCIS fanfiction which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after August 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator (and this work is still attached to the archivist account), please contact me using the e-mail address on [ the MTAC collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/mtac/profile)

Abby didn't regard her tats as scars, but she was scarred.

Inside, where no one could see them, her scars hid.

Beguiling her, entrapping her into being what they wanted her to be.

As the daughter of two deaf parents, Abby's memories of growing up were mostly of silence.

Her parents had no need for sound, so quietness surrounded her at home on a daily basis.

The quietness ate into her; it became something to be feared.

That was why she played music in her lab; that was why she talked about anything and everything. She _needed_ to hear. She needed to be sure; sure she _could_ hear.

She knew her scars were damaging. The more she had to have sound, the more she needed sound. She was feeding her wounds; they were becoming more insidious. And she didn’t know how to stop them.

And then she met Timothy McGee. 

Without being told, he began to help her realize she didn't need noise; that quietness was not to be feared.

Now, as she rests in Tim's arms with only the faint sound of his beating heart to break the silence, she knows that with Tim she need never be afraid.


End file.
